‘Hothead’ Austin Hill would revert to his old ways at Charlotte, this time with the defending Xfinity Series champ, Cole Custer. On Lap 185, door-banging through turn 4, the #21 painted a sorry scene as it drove through the #00’s rear bumper, trying “to kill” an infuriated Custer, as he said after the race.

Many will agree that Hill’s aggression warrants his being parked for at least one outing. But considering NASCAR remains tight-lipped over recent infractions from Richard Childress drivers, Tony Stewart & Gene Haas’ second-tier champions have nostalgic comparisons to throw in the face of the recent developments. And the fans are running wild on Twitter.

Austin Hill’s “hothead” move on Custer reignites Kyle Busch’s controversy

Austin Hill looked set to prove his haters wrong with back-to-back victories at the Daytona & Atlanta Xfinity races earlier this season. Then came the COTA Xfinity outing & a late-race tussle with a certain double hopeful from the shores of New Zealand, Shane van Gisbergen. A consequent caution, along with a track violation from the #97 car, led to NASCAR sending Shane van Gisbergen to the back of the pack, despite him leading from the final restart and finishing P2. Hill replaced SVG on the podium. That call would only sit right with a few, following the events in Austin on March 23rd.

Exactly two months and two days later, RCR’s full-time Xfinity Series starter and part-time driver of the #33 Cup Chevy stirred up even more controversy for his team owner, right after Kyle Busch’s heavily debated dust-up with Ricky Stenhouse Jr at North Wilkesboro. For those surprisingly unaware, Stenhouse Jr landed a right hook on Richard Childress’ #8-driving “Rowdy,” after waiting for 198 laps beside his victim’s RCR hauler. He acted this way due to an early-race wipeout, courtesy of Busch, that looked similar to Austin Hill’s no-lift rear-ending of Cole Custer’s SHR Ford.

JTG Daugherty Racing’s 2023 Daytona 500-winning #47 driver was fined a record $75K, while his team lost integral members to suspension. Stenhouse Jr’s father had his hard card revoked after throwing his name into the hat for a million-dollar brawl at North Wilkesboro. NASCAR issued no penalties for Busch or RCR for his blatantly intentional actions during the race. This drew major outcry amidst the grandstands over the sanctioning body seemingly favoring Richard Childress’ 6-time Bill France Cup-winning race team.

Considering some questionable penalty calls in recent times and NASCAR’s radio silence over Austin Hill’s lack of punishment, Cole Custer took to his X handle, comparing his Charlotte fortunes to those of Ron Hornaday Jr during the latter’s failed Truck Series championship advance at Texas in 2011. Ironically, one Kyle Busch was the reason that Kevin Harvick’s former driver couldn’t win his fifth Truck Series championship that night, in another resemblant incident.

Following a touch with Kyle Busch Motorsports’ #18 truck around Lap 13, Hornaday Jr found himself spun into the outer walls under caution, by none other than its team owner/driver himself, in a scene eerily reminiscent of Busch’s aggressive move on the #47 car at North Wilkesboro last week. But comparing these events to his own disappointments this week at Charlotte, Custer wrote on social media, “I don’t see any difference. I understand hard racing, I don’t understand that. Also when I have a right front brake line cut.”

From the naked spectator’s eye on screens worldwide, many witnessed the retaliatory developments that ultimately led to a P25 for Hill. And as Custer ended his day at P32 with a DNF in the background of Chase Elliott’s first Xfinity win since 2016, many others noticed some concerning developments brewing inside the broader NASCAR spectrum.

Fans question NASCAR’s silence on RCR

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One must remember NASCAR levied a hefty $50,000 fine on the then-JGR driver, Kyle Busch, following his actions in Texas. The sanction also included a suspension, barring him from competing in the subsequent Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series events that weekend. This prompted one fan to write, “Looks the same to me. Austin Hill deserves to be parked,” (as well), opining on Custer’s grievances.

Others agreed that “today. Hill has an anger mgmt issue with a weapon on track.” The #21 car’s reckless advances and earlier tussles with former disgruntled RCR teammate, Sheldon Creed also struck a wrong chord with many, as one fan stated with a touch of reality, “@_AustinHill needs serious help before he does something regretable.  This is not the first, second, third, or even fourth time.  @NASCAR needs to finally do something with him.”

“As a fan of RCR, I am with you on this one. His short fuse needs to be parked for at least 1 race,” concurred another diehard, an admirer of Richard Childress’ glorious race team. These perspectives shed a brighter light on the more widespread sentiments, pointing many a finger toward these unforeseeable circumstances.

Making things even clearer, a fan concluded their feelings towards Austin Hill’s defamatory actions, commenting, “I have no idea why @NASCAR didn’t park him. I guess there are special rules for @RCRracing”

Regardless, until NASCAR takes some much-required measures to fix these accusations, drivers like Custer should “Tell ‘em” how it is to ensure a positive dialogue emerges between the fight-night atmosphere currently plaguing the stock car scenes.